A/N: Don't own Twilight.

So, who's heard of cow tipping? Hubby says I'm showing my redneck roots. YeeHaw!

Chapter 26 – BPOV

The honeymoon was wonderful. A week spent with my new husband and our best friends in sunny Cancun. We swam, snorkeled, played in the sand, went dancing in hot clubs, everything we could think of. By the end of the week, we'd all gained some color, though luckily none of us got painfully burnt. None of us was ready to go at the end of the week.

We flew to Dallas instead of coming straight home, and spent several days with Jasper's family, since we hadn't gotten to spend much time with them at the wedding. They absolutely loved Alice and welcomed all of us with open arms. It was fun to see Jasper's roots and we even went horseback riding and cow tipping one night. The guys thought that was hilarious, while we girls were more nervous about the bull roaming around the pasture. By the end of the visit, Jasper's drawl was so thick we could barely understand him, and even Alice was starting to pick up a twang.

We returned home deliriously happy and even more in love. Edward and I couldn't keep our hands off each other, and had been busted numerous times sneaking away from the group for some "personal" time. Of course, the others were caught just as often, so it was more of a joke than anything.

We returned to the guest house to discover that the living room was stuffed full of gifts, which boggled our minds since the guests hadn't known it was a wedding they were attending, either. Apparently, while we were gone, the gifts had come pouring in, often with notes expressing the giver's delight with the surprise and good wishes for each couple. The day after we returned, the families, including Beth, Aro, Esme, and Carlisle who had stayed in town on holiday, gathered together to welcome us back and watch the opening of the gifts. It had taken all five of us to keep Emmett from diving into the gifts, especially once Alice sorted them out into four piles: one for each couple indicated on the tag, and one for all of us if the tag didn't designate which set or if it listed all of us. Rose finally had to go whisper something suggestive in his ear, to which he promptly tossed her over his shoulder and bounded to their room, not to be seen again until the next morning.

The get-together the next day was fun and interesting. Edward got to spend time with his father, getting to know each other. It turns out that they shared many common interests and experiences. I had a feeling that they would get along quite well, as long as Aro treated Beth right. Their relationship appeared to be going quite well, as they acted much like we honeymooners did. I wouldn't be surprised if Beth was going to be changing her name again soon.

We finally couldn't take Emmett's hyperactivity anymore and sat down to open the gifts. Alice, Emmett, and I did the opening part, while Jasper, Rose, and Edward noted the gift details so that we could send out Thank You cards. By the time we were done, we had enough for three fully stocked kitchens, a plethora of towels, and lots of beautiful crystal picture frames and other knick-knacks. We knew most of it would go to good use, but considering I'd already bought just about everything we needed for the kitchen, we would have to return nearly a third of the stuff we'd received. Luckily, most of them came with receipts (and came from mostly the same place), so exchanging the items shouldn't be that difficult. Of course, our favorite gifts were our wedding and honeymoon from the families, along with all the work put into getting the house ready by Esme and Carlisle.

We would be moving to Seattle permanently at the end of the week, four days away. In the meantime, we had to finish getting everything packed up here (which constituted just Alice's room, considering Rose and I had already done ours) and get the gifts exchanged. The guys still didn't have a great many things, though Emmett had gotten his stuff from his parents when we'd gone down for Christmas and Jasper got his during our short layover on the way home from Cancun. Everything we couldn't bring back on the plane was shipped directly to the house, which was a good thing, since we ended up actually shipping most of the stuff we bought in Cancun there, too.

It took both cars packed to the gills to get all the exchange items back to the store, where we spent the first hour going over what was coming back with the manager, and the next three hours shopping for what we wanted instead. Luckily, the store had a wide array of merchandise, and we were able to buy the TV the guys wanted, along with a nice sound system, along with a billiard table for the game room. We also got several board games, since all of us enjoyed doing that. Yet again, since the majority of the items we chose were large, the store was willing to ship them to the house in Seattle, though for a price, which we were happy to pay. As it was, we were going to have to rent a truck to get all of our stuff there.

Moving day dawned clear and warm, which we were thankful for. We loaded up the rented truck which my dad and Sue were driving, along with our cars, the Hale's car, and the Brandon's car. The parents had all chosen to accompany us to help us unload and get settled in. This made a total of sixteen people working on this move, since Aro wasn't leaving Beth's side. Frankly, I think they really wanted to see what Esme had done, just as much as we did. She had had several of her assistants finishing off the house while she was in Aberdeen, so the items that arrived since the wedding would already be there and put away.

It was late afternoon by the time our caravan pulled up to the house. The outside looked absolutely beautiful, as Esme had had some landscaping done, and flowers bloomed from the beds edging the house and in planters scattered along the front patio. We all piled out of the vehicles, stretching quickly and waiting for all of us to congregate before we moved to the front door. Esme stepped to the door with the key, unlocking but not opening it yet. She produced five more keyrings with copies of the house keys already on them, with our names etched into the fobs. "I haven't had this much fun putting together a house in years. Thank you for letting me do this for you. I really hope you love it."

We each took our key and gave her a swift but hard hug and a thank you before stepping back to wait, each of us fidgeting in our anticipation of getting to finally see our new home. Finally, Emmett couldn't take it anymore. "Aargg, Esme, open the blooming door already!"

We all burst out laughing, Esme included, saying," I was just waiting for someone to say something…"

"Something!" we all chorused together, causing more laughter.

She then swept the door open with a flourish, giving us our first peek. We filed inside, oohing and aahing the entire way. The house was absolutely perfect. It suited us perfectly with rich, warm colors and a homey feel that just invited one to come in, kick your shoes off, and sit down. The parents, excluding the Hales, hadn't seen the house at all yet, so they were blown away by its size as well as its beautiful décor. The girls and I couldn't help the tears that escaped at seeing everything we'd dreamed of turn out so much better than we could have ever imagined. We each had to go back to Esme several times during the tour that followed, thanking her again and again for all the work she'd done for us.

Edward and I couldn't believe our bedroom. We had chosen muted jewel tones to go with the darker stain on the woodwork, much like the rest of the house, and everything came together so beautifully. Our bed set was iron work in a scrolled rose motif, all curves and swirls. Edward hadn't wanted any kind of straight edges or bars, a desire I understood completely without having to have it explained. The bed was piled with a thick comforter and fluffy pillows covered in soft Egyptian cotton. It looked incredibly comfortable and restful, and I couldn't wait to crawl into it come bedtime. Our bathroom carried the warm color scheme with wood flooring, a bead board surround, and brushed nickel fixtures.

Rose and Emmett's bedroom was done in black, white, and red, flamboyant and dramatic colors that matched their personalities perfectly. They'd chosen a huge wrought iron four poster bed with sheer white fabric draped around the canopy. Their bathroom echoed the color scheme, which I knew had required replacement of the bath tiles, but it looked beautiful.

Alice and Jasper's bedroom had a Tuscan flare, with another huge wrought iron bed set, but this time with softer lines and wood accents scattered throughout it. The black iron was carried through the room with various accents, including several wall sconces and candle sticks. They'd chosen a textured paint technique for their walls in a stone color, so their room looked like something you might find in Italy. Their bathroom carried the motif, with stone tile (another replacement) and antiqued fixtures.

I turned to Esme after checking out Alice's room and raised an eyebrow. She knew exactly what I was thinking.

"Yes, your and Edward's room was the easiest to put together. We just had to do some painting in there. Your taste is very classic and warm, which worked perfectly with what was already here. You should have seen the delivery guys trying to get all those king size beds up here, though! We almost had to replace the stair railing once."

"Sounds like Beth gave all of us the same advice," I responded, laughing when I heard Edward's sputtering behind me, and turned to see Beth nodding in agreement with my assumption.

With so many people available, it didn't take long for the guys to get everything into the house and the ladies to get it unpacked and placed away. Alice stood by the front door, giving directions to the guys on where to put whatever they were carrying, which helped things along tremendously. There was also a largish stack of items left on the dining room table that the assistants were unsure as to who they belonged to. We went through that pile pretty quickly as well, and had everything done just before eight in the evening. I was astounded that we'd gotten everything done, but with that many people, it went really fast. I knew that we would have some rearranging to do, but that could happen at a more relaxed pace. Luckily for all of us, Alice is super-organized, and insisted that everything be labeled by who owned what and what room it should go into.

We all congregated downstairs, taking a moment to rest after the long drive and then sustained activity. The Hales, Brandons, and Charlie and Sue were staying with the Cullens overnight before heading back to Aberdeen in the morning. They could have stayed with us, but we hadn't gotten all the furniture chosen for the guest rooms yet. We would get there in due time.

"We have reservations at a restaurant just down the street for nine tonight. With this many people, I didn't want to risk not making them, and I made it late since I had no idea how quickly we could get everything in and put away. This is the fastest move-in I've ever seen, and trust me, I've seen a lot!"

We all nodded our agreement in acknowledgement of the information and agreement with her assessment of the speed. "With sixteen people, it had to go fast. Even with a house as big as this, we were nearly running over each other." Carlisle commented. I had to look around the room a moment to really take in how many people were seated around our new living room. There were three people a piece on each couch, with the rest relaxing in chairs placed around the room, exactly as Alice had envisioned. It amazed me that we had this much room.

After a moment of relaxed silence, I pulled myself up from the couch and announced, "I'm going upstairs to get cleaned up and revel in my new room for a while. Call me when it's time to go, please." Several murmured agreements accompanied my words and Rose and Alice got up to do the same. We made our way upstairs slowly, tired from all the carrying, walking, and climbing we'd done. However, as soon as I walked into my room, I took a deep, relaxing breath and could feel all my fatigue drain away.

I turned on the radio but kept the volume low as I moved about the room, rearranging a few items, sometimes moving them back after considering them for a moment. It would probably take a few weeks before Edward and I had everything exactly where we wanted it. With that done, I changed my dirtied shirt, finding that Alice must have put my clothes in my closet since everything was organized by clothing type (shirt, pants, skirts, sweaters, dresses), then by color. Even my shoes were organized in the same fashion. It certainly made it easy to find what I wanted, though it was a little creepy, too. I could see that she'd done the same with Edward's clothes.

After I washed my face and hands, and brushed out my hair, I laid down on the bed, sinking into it with a blissful sigh. I had no intention of going to sleep; I was just enjoying the opportunity to rest and take in my new surroundings. I hadn't been there long when I heard the door open and close behind me.

*****

EPOV

I stayed downstairs with the family for several minutes, giving Bella time to do whatever she wanted to do to freshen up before I went upstairs. Conversation was relaxed and lively, unusual for such a large group, but we'd clearly become one large family as we'd worked together toward the common goal of getting the six of our lives put together. Even Aro seemed to have fit into the group with little problem. I had enjoyed getting to know my father the last few days, though it was still strange to think of him as such. Luckily for us both, he had chosen not to try to create a father/son relationship, but rather one of friendship and a bit of mentorship. We understood each other well, and were both happy with the current status. He had pulled me aside earlier tonight to speak with me about what our lives were like before and about how I felt about him re-entering her life. I was up front with him. I knew that my mother had told him about how life was like with Ed, though I could see from his reaction that she hadn't exactly been forthcoming about the extent of the physical abuse she'd suffered. I didn't mention the sexual abuse she'd alluded to. That was not my story to tell, and I wasn't positive about it in the first place. My mother was beyond ecstatic with having Aro back in her life, and I was glad to see her happy. I wasn't going to introduce something so evil into her relationship if she'd chosen not to.

He was appeased however, when I told him about our detour to confront him on our way back from Seattle the last time we were here. Ed had spent more than a month in the hospital and would be in physical therapy for years. His inability to work had cost him his job and the house. He was now living on government assistance, something that galled me, but I knew that, considering his pride, it galled him worse. The event had, of course, been reported to the police, but they weren't too interested in looking for the perpetrators. This information had been passed on from Charlie, who had heard it from one of his police officer friends who knew of the connection. Charlie never stated it aloud, but I'm pretty sure he knows it was us.

I quietly excused myself from the group and went upstairs. I opened the door to discover Bella sprawled across the bed on her back, clearly cleaned up, and appearing to be asleep. I quietly closed the door behind me, and went about getting cleaned up myself. With that done, I took a moment to look around our room, and noticed several things that she had moved around. I had to smile, because most of them were items I had mentally noted for rearrangement earlier in the evening. Finally, I couldn't stay away from her a moment longer.

I gently crawled up on the bed before laying my body next to hers, propping my head up with one hand. I brushed the hair from her face before lightly stroking her cheek with my fingertips. A small smile formed on her perfect lips, and I couldn't resist bending down and giving her a soft kiss. Just as I was about to pull away, I felt her hand thread its way into my hair, holding me against her luscious lips. I gently moved my body more over hers until one leg was wedged between her thighs and my chest was pressed against hers. We both moaned at the contact. I still couldn't get enough of her body, and I didn't think I ever would. She was a wonderful lover, sweet and loving at times, but also wild and adventurous others. She made my heart pound either way. She was everything I could have ever hoped for and more. We'd been married almost three weeks, and they were easily the best three weeks of my life.

Just as our kisses started to get heated, a knock sounded at the door. "Hey guys, it's time to get going," called Rose. I rested my forehead against hers for a moment, our eyes locked in silent communication. After a final soft kiss, I pulled myself and then her off of the bed. I adjusted my body and then my clothing, fighting to calm myself the entire time.

"I can't wait until we're alone later," she murmured.

"Me too. I can't wait to try out that new tub," I commented with a raised eyebrow, a silent invitation.

Bella released a soft moan before answering, "I love how you think. It's a date." We quickly rejoined the others downstairs.

"So, Eddie," Emmett began, "do you like your new bed?" I knew something was coming. When he calls me Eddie, he's either being sarcastic or ragging on me.

"Yes, it is extremely comfortable. I can't wait to crawl into it later."

"More like crawl into Bella," he teased with a wicked smile. The others laughed, though Bella, Esme and my mother were blushing. Luckily Evie and Kim were still in the other room getting cleaned up. I knew I could either react how he expected, thus egging him on, or I could try turning it back on him. I didn't want to incite Rose's ire, so I simply said, "That too," and walked off. This brought a louder round of laughter due to Emmett's impression of a fish with a gaping mouth, opening and closing.

We left for the restaurant and enjoyed a relaxed and jovial meal together. We had an unusual conversation, though, related to the choice to change both of our last names. It was Charlie who brought it up.

"Okay, Edward. I've been dying to ask, so here goes. Why did you change your last name to Cullen?" The entire table went silent. Clearly, most of the people there were wondering the same thing. In fact, I think only the six of us knew why we had chosen that option, and only because we had talked about it during the honeymoon.

"Well, when we were talking with the judge about getting the license without the girl's blood tests, he mentioned that changing their name would be part of the process of filing the marriage certificate, if they chose to change them. I asked if the option was open to both partners and he indicated yes. I thought about it for a few hours and decided to get Bella's take on it. I initiated one of our "rhetorical" conversations about getting married, and I mentioned that I didn't want to maintain the Masen last name anymore and that when we got married, we could choose whatever last name we wanted. We talked about me taking the Swan name, which was fine with me but she thought it felt weird. To her, either just she changed hers or we both changed. We touched on the topic of Mom changing her name to Cullen to be the same as Esme, and we both just stopped to stare at each other. When we both started to smile, I knew that we'd just agreed on what we wanted. From that point on, I called her Bella Cullen or Mrs. Cullen when the opportunity arose, while she did the same with mine. We only had a couple of days of doing that before the wedding, but the more it happened, the more I loved how it sounded." By the end of my explanation, Esme and my mother were crying and there was a glassy sheen to Carlisle's eyes.

"That means the world to us, Edward, Bella, more than you'll ever know," Esme choked out before coming around to give us both a big hug. I knew it would mean a lot to her since they were unable to have kids themselves. I never did ask why they chose not to adopt, as I didn't want to open old wounds. They would have made wonderful parents.

Bob piped up after that, obviously suddenly remembering something. "Oh, I have news about that guy that was bothering you girls. He's been sent to Leavenworth, or whatever that huge military prison is, for the rest of his life."

"What'd he do? It had to have been bad to get sent there, much less for life."

"Well, um, geez, now I don't know how much to say, what with having ladies present." Bob looked like he very much regretted bringing up the topic.

"Oh, come on, Bob," Kim said. "You know very well that our men will end up telling us anyway, so you may as well say it."

"Okay, but remember you said that. He was convicted of raping and murdering a young village girl. The story is that his CO had begun to suspect him of similar stuff and had started watching him closely. On their next excursion, he found Newton just as he was finishing raping the girl and then proceeded to kill her before the guy could get to him. He won't ever be coming home. His parents, of course, are claiming that he was set up, just as they squawked when Bella beat the crap out of him, but there were too many witnesses this time."

I could feel Bella shudder against me. I couldn't allow myself to think about how easily that could have been one of the girls. I was just glad he was locked up so he couldn't hurt anyone else.

We were all silent for a moment, trying to assimilate what we'd just been told. Finally, Esme said, "So, guys, when do you want to get together to do the guest rooms?" This restarted the conversation and allowed us to move on.

Soon, most of us were yawning, and we took our leave after hugs and kisses all around. The parents would be returning to Aberdeen in the morning, and we wouldn't be seeing them before they left. My mother was staying the night at Aro's, something I suspected would become permanent shortly. The six of us squeezed into my car and we headed back to the house. Not much was said as we all went our separate directions. We were all more than ready for our first night in our new home.

I had barely closed the door behind me before Bella was pressed against me, hungrily kissing me with everything she had. I fumbled for a moment before successfully getting the door locked, and then began backing her across the room to stop at the edge of the bed. We began pulling the clothes off each other, hands becoming more demanding as our kisses got hungrier. I pulled away long enough to ask, "Bed, shower, or tub?" We had discovered shower sex while in Cancun, and both enjoyed it immensely, though our sizes necessitated my supporting her entire weight. Doing so was no longer an issue, since I'd finally completely healed, but I was tired tonight and though I wanted it as an option, I was unsure how long I would be able to maintain the support. We hadn't engaged in tub sex again since the first time had bruised Bella's knees pretty badly (imagine trying to explain deep bruises on the outside of each knee). Our new tub was wider than the first one, but I was still cautious about bruising her again.

Still kissing me hungrily as she pushed my jeans and shorts down my legs, she mumbled,"Tub" at me. I began backing her into the bathroom before pulling away long enough to turn on the water and begin filling the tub. She stepped away to pull her hair up on top of her head and secure it with a band. "Bubbles?" I asked from behind her. At her nod, I added a capful of her favorite bubble bath, shuddering slightly in excitement. I loved Bella wet and slick.

When she was done with her hair, she lit several candles that had been placed throughout the room while I got a couple of towels from the linen closet. I turned off the main light and turned to find her waiting silently behind me, her beautiful body glowing in the candlelight. Thankfully, the tub was done filling by then so I turned off the tap and helped her step into the tub, before settling myself behind her. I would never get tired of feeling her naked body pressed against mine, either side.

We relaxed for several minutes, enjoying the heat on our sore muscles and the peacefulness we always found in each other's company. I could feel her body relax by degrees against me, releasing the tension accumulated from several days of intense work and stress. With just about everything done, we could finally relax and enjoy just being married for a few weeks before we started our first classes.

She startled me slightly when she spoke. "Hey, Baby? What day is it?" It took me a minute to think. We'd been so busy that I'd completely lost track.

"The 21st? Is that right? Why?"

"I was afraid of that. I'm so sorry, Baby." Now I was dumbfounded. What did she have to be sorry for?

"What's wrong, Sweet Girl? You don't have anything to be sorry for," I responded, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her back tightly to my chest.

"Don't tell me you forgot, too!"

"Must have since I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Your birthday was yesterday, Baby. With everything going on, I totally forgot about it. I'm so sorry! I didn't even get you a gift," she whispered, with tears in her voice. I couldn't even move for a moment, and then suddenly I was laughing loudly. She sniffed before snapping at me, "Don't laugh at me! I can't believe I missed your first birthday together!"

I did my best to reign in my laughter, pulling her back into me when she tried to pull away. "Oh, Sweetheart! I'm not laughing at you! I'm laughing at all of us, especially myself and my mother. We've all been so covered up with getting everything done that we all forgot it, including the woman who gave birth to me. Please don't be mad at me, Baby, or at yourself. It's not a big deal to me, anyway. Tomorrow is the anniversary of the day I met you, and I would rather celebrate that than my birthday any day."

She was quiet a moment before asking in a small voice, "Are you sure?"

"Yes, Sweet Girl. I'm not disappointed or mad or anything at all. Just amused. I bet my mother comes screaming over here either tomorrow or the next day, horrified that she missed it too." Bella thought about it for a moment, before she, too started giggling. The movement of her body as she laughed was jarring to my body, quickly turning my attention from my missed birthday to the woman sitting between my legs. "Bella," I growled into her ear as I pulled her tightly against my straining erection. Her gasp and moan told me her own attention was now diverted to the same direction as mine.

We began kissing again, a bit awkwardly due to our positions, but I loved having my hands free to roam her body. The bubble bath, which had mostly dissipated, left her skin very slick, allowing me to run my hands across her body with more firmness than usual. Her moans told me she loved every bit of it.

It had been several days since we'd had the opportunity to make love since we'd both been exhausted each evening when we collapsed into bed. Consequently, my hunger for her went from a slow simmer to a rolling boil in moments, leaving me ready to be inside her with very little foreplay. Fortunately for me, apparently Bella felt the same way. She wiggled around until her knees were bent below her (there was plenty of room this time), though she still faced away from me. She clearly had some sort of plan, as she started tugging on my thighs to get me to scoot down more, until my hips were almost horizontal and my head leaning against the top lip of the tub.

I felt her take my aching cock into her hands, and I groaned my approval loudly. She gave it a few swift strokes before sitting up on her knees. Before I could even guess her intentions, she sat herself swiftly down, taking me in completely, just like she had on our wedding night. The breath left my lungs in a great whoosh, the pleasure making me dizzy. She had ridden me several times since our wedding night, but this is the first time she'd gotten on facing away from me. The difference in the feeling was astounding. I braced my feet against the bottom corners of the tub and my shoulders against the back of it, giving us the stability needed to really allow us to move. I gripped her hips with my hands, prepared to start helping when she was ready.

Bella stopped and groaned deeply as she impaled herself on me. I could feel her adjust her body, getting into a better position to move comfortably. When she felt my hands clasp her hips, she knew I was ready for her to move, which she began to do immediately. She began long, slow, deep strokes, clearly relishing each movement. I was immediately overwhelmed and I managed to moan out between pants,"Bella! Baby, I'm not going to last long… aargh!... been too long… oh God…please come with me."

"Oh, Baby, yes! I'm close, too… oohhh…" she continued moaning. She'd been leaning back with her hands supporting her weight on my forearms, but she now shifted her weight forward, bracing herself on my knees. The change in angle was electrifying, and I couldn't help gripping her hips even more tightly, lifting her up before slamming back down onto my up-thrusting cock. A deep, grating growl began in my chest as my body tightened in preparation for its release. Luckily, Bella was similarly affected, and began trembling in my hands as soon as I began to lose my control. My back arched backward, causing me to slam so hard into her that had I been capable of thought, I would have been anxious about possibly hurting her. I could vaguely hear her own howls of rapture and felt the spasms racking her body above me, her sex clamped deliciously upon my throbbing, spurting cock.

She fell back against me when her body released the last of its tension, gasping for breath. My own breathing was difficult to get under control for several minutes, my body limp in the water. The most movement I could summon for several minutes was to gently kiss the side of her head. When I was finally able to move my arms, I placed my hands on her hips, gently rubbing the spots where I had gripped her, likely bruising her once again. I hated that I bruised her in my passion, but she actually found it rather provocative. Luckily she healed quickly.

We gathered enough energy to pull ourselves from the quickly cooling bath, briskly toweling ourselves dry to heat our chilled skin. Once dry enough, I grabbed Bella's brush and we scampered to the bed, diving under the covers. I sat up against the headboard, adjusting the pillows behind me to get comfortable. I pulled Bella between my legs and began brushing out her luxurious hair. This had become a ritual for us, giving us a quiet loving end to the day, where we could talk if we wanted, but be quiet if we didn't. Tonight, we chose to be quiet and just absorb each other's presence. When her hair was fully brushed and shining, I placed the brush aside and we slid down further into the covers, my body spooning hers, my arms wrapped around her and our legs intertwined. We always went to sleep like this. Even when we moved around during the night, we would always keep at least one point of our bodies touching, maintaining that contact throughout the night.